Turkish police nab 32 suspected 'hactivists'

Police in Turkey arrested at least 32 suspected "hacktivists" linked to attacks that disrupted access to Turkish government websites last week. Members of the loosely knit "Anonymous" group were arrested in 12 cities, including Ankara and Istanbul, computer security site Sophos reported. In a blog post, Sophos noted the arrests came days after similar arrests of "Anonymous" suspects in Spain. The suspects have been taken to Ankara for questioning, according to Sophos. On June 10, "Anonymous" claimed responsibility for distributed denial of service or DDoS attacks on Turkish government websites, including tib.gov.tr and sgk.gov.tr. "Anonymous is protesting Internet censorship in Turkey. The Turkish government plans to implement a filter on Internet browsing on Aug. 22 under the pretense of protecting the youth from "harmful elements on the web," Critics argue that the filter will lead to wide-spread censorship," the group said. But Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said the tools used by the hackers may not have done a good job of covering their tracks. "My guess is that those who took part in the attacks are not in such a celebratory mood now that the Turkish authorities appear to have identified some of them," he said. "It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to hear about a retaliatory attack against Turkish websites also following these arrests," he added. — VS, GMA News